Pyongyang has claimed that its medium-range ballistic missile test carried out on Sunday under the supervision of Kim Jong-un has confirmed the “tactical specifications and technical characteristics” of the rocket which North Korea says is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
North Korea has succeeded in launching its new “Hwaseong-12” surface-to-surface missile on May 14, Pyongyang’s official Central News Agency announced.
“The test fire was conducted with maximum angle of the projectile’s elevation in consideration of the safety of neighboring countries, with the aim of confirming the tactical specifications and technical characteristics of the new long-range strategic ballistic rockets capable of loading powerful heavy-weight nuclear warheads,” KCNA announced.
The country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, led the launch of a new type of rocket, the report noted.
“The launched rocket flew up to the maximum peak altitude of 2,111.5 kilometers along the scheduled flight orbit and precisely hit the target waters 787-kilometers away,” the communications ministry’s announcement read.
South Korea’s military also said earlier that the N. Korean projectile flew around 700 km before falling into the Sea of Japan. However, despite the North claiming it to be a long-range missile, the US military’s Pacific Command, which tracked and analyzed the launch earlier, said it was unlikely that the the fired projectile was an intercontinental missile.
“The type of missile is being assessed and the flight was not consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile,” Pacific Command’s spokesman said.
READ MORE: North Korean rocket flew away from Russia, was no threat – Russian Defense Ministry
The Russian Defense Ministry said the missile flew for 23 minutes before dropping in international waters in the central part of the Sea of Japan. While the projectile flew some 500 kilometers from the Russian coast, the apparent missile test posed no threat to Russia, the military noted.
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